PORTLAND, Ore. —June 16, 2022—Portland Japanese Garden is honored to be among the host gardens for this year’s annual conference of the American Public Garden Association (APGA), titled “CommUNITY of Gardens.” From June 19^th through June 24^th, professionals representing 600 organizations from all 50 states and 20 nations will convene at Hilton Downtown Portland to highlight how public gardens “ignite connection, protection, and change.”

Over the course of the conference, Portland Japanese Garden CEO, Steve Bloom and Chief Curator, Sadafumi Uchiyama will participate in separate panel discussions. On June 21, Uchiyama will join landscape design colleagues in a discussion of the Garden’s award-winning 2017 Cultural Crossing expansion. On June 22, Bloom will give a keynote speech about the power of vision, and how it can bring about transformational change. On the same afternoon, he will moderate a panel of Japanese garden experts that will discuss how the ideals of Japanese gardens migrated across oceans to make lasting social and horticultural impacts around the world.

_{L: Portland Japanese Garden CEO Steve Bloom, R: Portland Japanese Garden Chief Curator and Director of the International Japanese Garden Training Center, Sadafumi Uchiyama.}

Concluding the conference will be a reception held on Friday, June 24^th at Portland Japanese Garden, where attendees can enjoy a summer evening in the garden, enhanced with traditional Japanese music and cultural performances, traditional tea ceremonies, tours of the garden spaces, and networking among attending professionals.

Portland Japanese Garden joins Lan Su Chinese Garden, Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden, and Hoyt Arboretum as the host gardens for this event. More information on “CommUNITY of Gardens” can be found on their website.

---

Media Contact:    

Will Lerner | 503-542-9351 | [email protected]

About Portland Japanese Garden:  

Portland Japanese Garden is a nonprofit organization originally founded in 1963 as a place for cross-cultural understanding following World War II. A hallmark in the City of Portland, the Garden was founded on the ideals of peace and mutual understanding between peoples and cultures. Portland Japanese Garden is considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan and the foremost Japanese cultural organization in North America.

---